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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024613">Green Thumb</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chicken_Broccoli_2013/pseuds/Chicken_Broccoli_2013'>Chicken_Broccoli_2013</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Holidays - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, F/M, Gift Giving, Holidays, Murder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 06:27:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024613</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chicken_Broccoli_2013/pseuds/Chicken_Broccoli_2013</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is by far my worst work yet. But I'm posting it anyway. Yay... </p><p>Based on the 2016 movie 'Holidays.' I love Seth Green and I'm sorry this story doesn't do him justice. Try to enjoy it anyway.<br/>Reader has a crush on her coworker and decides to give him the present he's been looking for as a gift.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pete Gunderson/Original Female Charater</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Green Thumb</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You had always liked Pete Gunderson. Ever since you were first hired at the same company, he’d enthralled you. He was soft-spoken, kind, but funny when he wanted to be. And he was handsome—red hair and green eyes that swirled like liquid shamrocks. He was everything you wanted. But he was married. You knew that, and you tried to accept it. He had a beautiful wife and a child to seal the deal. He would never be yours; he barely even noticed your existence, even though you worked in the same office together.<br/>
So when Christmas approached and you heard he was looking for a very specific gift for his son, you decided this was your chance. You’d get him those glasses if it was the last thing you’d do; then at least he’d know how much you cared. It turned out they were one of the most popular items on the market, sold out at every store you tried. The Christmas calendar was counting down faster than you’d ever noticed before. You were running out of time. On Christmas Eve, during your lunch break, you called one final store. They still had some in stock! You told them your name and asked them to save one for you. You glanced over at Pete, staring at his computer over a lukewarm mug of coffee. You were going to make his year.<br/>
You rushed out the door after work, ignoring your coworkers as they called after you. You tried not to speed as you drove to the store—you had to get there before they closed…You arrived just as the shop owner was flipping the sign to ‘Closed.’ “Wait,” you yelled, nearly tripping over your own feet as you run over. The owner propped the door open, giving you a sympathetic shrug.<br/>
“We’re closed, sweetheart. Sorry, you just missed it.”<br/>
“But…but I called ahead. (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), remember? I asked you to save a pair of glasses for me.”<br/>
“Sorry, kid. It’s first come first serve, and the last pair just sold out.” He pointed out to the parking lot, where you spotted a man in a suit walking to his car. You chased after him. “Wait! Sir…please…”<br/>
He paused and turned to you, those godforsaken glasses in his hand. “Yes? Can I help you?”<br/>
“I-I’ve gotta get those glasses. They’re for my friend. Please, I’ll give you—” You opened your purse and dug out your wallet, flipping through the pockets. Thank God you’d just gotten paid. “Three hundred.” He shook his head. “Four hundred? Four fifty? Please, that’s all I’ve got…”<br/>
He shrugged. “No can do. If it was really that important, you would’ve gotten your hands on it earlier. Merry Christmas.”<br/>
You stared with your mouth open as he reached his car, putting the precious box inside. You were doomed…Suddenly the man clutched his chest. You watched as he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a pill bottle, but by the time he had it his hands were shaking too much to open it. He collapsed to the ground with a strangled gasp. Mind blank, you rushed over and knelt beside him. Heart pills. He was having a heart attack. “Sir, just hang on; I’ll call someone, I’ll…” You paused. His car door was open, the glasses just sitting there. Tantalizing. Begging to be taken. You looked from the man to the box and back again. This was your chance. You scrambled over a seized the box, your heart pounding as you felt the weight of it in your arms. You were about to leave, but…He still lay there, twitching, gasping.<br/>
You just couldn’t do it. You opened the pill bottle for him and dialed 911. As you were standing to leave, you saw none other than Pete jog up to the shop door and knock. You called out to him, waving. “Pete!” He turned to look at you, eyes narrowing in confusion. “It’s me,” you said as you closed the distance between you, “(Y/F/N) from work.”<br/>
He smiled in recognition. “Hey, (Y/F/N). I was just looking for—” He froze as he spotted the box in your hands. “Is that…is that the last one?”<br/>
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s for you.” You held it out to him, feeling a strange sense of pride. “I heard you were looking for it for your son, and I wanted to help.”<br/>
He stared at the box in awe before carefully taking it in his hands. “T-thank you, (Y/F/N). If it weren’t for you…”<br/>
“I know.” You smiled, rocking back on your heels. “Wanna try ‘em out?”<br/>
“Here? Now?” He looked startled, but then grinned. “Sure, why not? Gotta make sure they work.”<br/>
You tore into the box together and unwrapped the glasses. Feeling suddenly shy, you offered them to him first. “So…what are we supposed to see?”<br/>
“Dunno. It’s supposed to be different for everyone.” He put them on almost cautiously, then gasped. “Whoa…no way.”<br/>
“What?” You leaned close. Like that would help you see anything… “What do you see?”<br/>
Pete ripped them off, staring at you with those molten eyes. “Uh…nothing. Just a girl.”<br/>
“Was she pretty?”<br/>
“Very.”<br/>
“Did you want her?”<br/>
He coughed uncomfortably. “Look, it’s your turn now, ‘kay?”<br/>
You gave him a look but accepted the glasses as he handed them to you. You slipped them on and waited. The screen flashed and you saw…Pete. Except he was naked and holding his hand out to you, standing just outside a bedroom. Your mouth dropped open and without thinking you reached out to take his hand. “(Y/F/N)? You good?” You forced yourself to take the glasses off.<br/>
“Y-yeah.”<br/>
Pete eyed you for a second, then smiled. “Well, I’m gonna go surprise my wife at work. She was so upset that she didn’t get her Christmas bonus…these’d really make her day.”<br/>
You felt your shoulders start to sag and tried not to let him see. “Sounds like a great idea.”<br/>
“You wanna come with?”<br/>
“Me? I don’t want to get between—”<br/>
“You won’t. C’mon.” Pete grabbed your hand and suddenly nothing else seemed to matter.<br/>
Sarah was indeed thrilled by the surprise. She tried the glasses, laughing at whatever she saw. You couldn’t help but clench your fists as she locked lips with Pete. “Bobby’s gonna love ‘em, honey.”<br/>
“You think?”<br/>
“I know.” She glanced at me, then back at him. “Hon, I’ve gotta work late tonight. The boss is still here and I need to finish some things.”<br/>
Pete nodded in understanding. “No problem.”<br/>
We left together as Sarah headed deeper into the office. You eyed the glasses, feeling a strange tug to put them on again. Why not? You did, hoping your last fantasy would keep going. But that wasn’t what you saw. You saw Sarah, hips swinging as she carried a cup of coffee into her boss’ office. “Here you go, Levi. Just the way you like it.” The vision skipped ahead, to Sarah returning as Levi’s head nodded on the desk. “Oh boss, you don’t look so good…” There was a smirk on her lips.<br/>
You watched, horror-struck, as Levi woke up in a grungy basement. Sarah stood next to him, wearing a clear raincoat and holding a turkey carving knife. She snickered. “Should’ve given me that bonus, Levi.” She turned the knife on and—you whipped the glasses off, trying to catch your breath.<br/>
“P-Pete…”<br/>
“Hmmm?” You passed the glasses to him wordlessly. He put them on and you watched as his face changed from surprise to horror to disgust. He tore them off and stared at you. “Holy shit…was that…real?”<br/>
You still weren’t breathing normally. “I-I don’t know. We’ve gotta do something….”<br/>
“Like what?”<br/>
“Stop her!”<br/>
“How?”<br/>
“I dunno…we could find that knife and—”<br/>
“Kill her first.” You glanced at Pete, unable to keep your mouth from dropping open. His eyes were darker than you’d ever seen them, his jaw clenched. “That’s the only way to keep Bobby safe.”<br/>
You swallowed against the lump in your throat. “And what’ll you tell him?”<br/>
He huffed. “We’ll get there when we get there.” You followed him back into the office, praying you weren’t too late. The building was dark, quiet…except for a light that was on at the end of the hall. And a voice: Sarah. You and Pete shared a look.<br/>
“What the hell do we fight with?”<br/>
That stumped him. “Whatever we can…?” You glanced into the room. There was Sarah, just as you’d seen her in her raincoat, with her boss helpless before her. The knife sat on a table behind her. Lucky for the both of you, she was still in the middle of her monologue. You pointed from Pete, to her, to the knife, to yourself. If he could just distract her…<br/>
He nodded solemnly, then slipped into the room. “Hey Sarah, I was just…”<br/>
She whipped around, eyes blazing. Now was your chance! You grabbed the knife right as she did. The two of you struggled, Sarah growling like a wolf and you just trying to avoid getting cut by the damn thing. Just as you were sure this was going to be your last night with all your limbs, she tripped over the power cord. You wrangled the knife away from her, tossed it to Pete, and he sawed her head right off. For a moment you just stared at each other, dumbstruck.<br/>
Then Pete laugh nervously and Levi groaned behind you. You rushed to untie him. “Holy shit.”<br/>
“Yeah.”<br/>
“That…that was not how I expected my Christmas Eve to go.”<br/>
“No.” Pete back out of the room, both of you silently agreeing to let Levi deal with the body. As you headed out to his car, he took your hand again. “You know, (Y/N), I never told you what I saw.”<br/>
You shrugged, trying to hide the blush creeping up your cheeks. “You told me enough. It was a pretty girl—”<br/>
“It was you.” You froze. “It’s always been you, (Y/N).”<br/>
“Really?” You eyed him, trying to believe what you were hearing. “All this time…but your wife…”<br/>
Pete silenced you with a gentle kiss, taking your face in his hands. “We don’t have to worry about her anymore. Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”</p>
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